The right wing Australian government continues its usury of welfare recipients. It treats them like trash, sorting them and throwing out who they deem to be ripping off society. Like treasurer Joe Hockey says, the welfare state has ended, while he continues to take a $1,000 handout each month for a house his wife owns in Canberra.

Is there a link between the illegal use of the drug ice and those on Centrelink payments? There obviously isn't! However, the government plans to test all those receiving money. All Australians do not have equal rights. If you have a job you can continue to work being powered along by crystal methamphetamine.

Drug taking will never be stopped despite the war by police instigated by government. In ancient times only medicine men and in some cases women had the knowledge of how to "potion-out" mind alternating chemicals. Their distorted "dreaming" was mistaken for contact with the afterlife. Today, everyone can easily access the chemicals commonly termed drugs to go on a trip. If anything illegal drugs can currently be more easily obtained.

It looks like mandatory 10 year imprisonment for 2g or more of ice. What is magical about 2g? Nothing really. It is arbitrary. It could be a tonne. C

ontinually testing known addicts is a waste of time and money. You are hooked for life. Money should be spent on preventing potential new users from experimenting. Treatment doesn't do any good.

Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey are misguided in believing they can hide the jobless. Taking all income away from unemployed youth will only increase poverty and crime. Taking careers' income away and forcing them onto the dole queue will only ruin their lives and the lives of people they care for.

The elderly who need full-time care will only head for "old peoples' homes", particularly if they do not own a house that the government can hock to pay the fees. To say they are not hitting those who cannot hit back is definitely not true. These elderly sick people are defenceless.

Australian youth are in fact losing jobs. The proportion with work has fallen to its lowest rate for twenty years. Cutting penalty rates and wages generally will only drive the young into poverty. Having enough to buy food and nothing left for accommodation is a recipe for social disaster. Do you think for one moment that they will not take what they don't have. Watch the numbers rise for those living for free in empty houses owned by others.

If they want to study, the young will go into massive debt even before they start their working lives. Paying HECS for trade coursed is stupid. Next to laboring, trade jobs are the lowest paid. They certainly will not be able to save for a house deposit while paying off debt.

Where is the money coming from to move to a place that supposedly has work - as if these places exist. It costs money to move to a new city and the government is offering nothing. They know that the young cannot move so they will lose their unemployment benefit. No human being can live on nothing.

Even though Australia is booming with the economic downturn hurting elsewhere, the unemployed are being targeted by the government. Several years ago pensioners were given a significant rise in payments. The unemployment rate remained the same. The "dole" is indexed to inflation, but it remains very low.

Youth Allowance is paid to young people to the age of 20, full-time student under 24, and also apprentices to this age. Those living at home receive A$110.15 a week (2010). Independent recipients get A$167.35. Living away from home, sharing the rent of a house could easily cost more than A$100.00 a week. Attending university would be just as expensive, so the burden falls on parents.

Newstart which is the actual "dole" paid to eligible unemployed workers over 18 years is A$228.00 a week. There are severe restrictions on getting the full amount. Recipients must sign an Unemployment Pathway Plan (Activity Agreement) where they are monitored and told to do certain activities in preparation for work. If they earn more than A$32.00 a week the benefit is reduced. It ends entirely when income reaches A$228.00.

Those who own a home must have assets valued below A$161.500 to receive the full rate. Non-homeowners can have A$278,500 of assets. More benefits are paid to people who have children. Rent assistance can also be obtained.

Conservative governments tend to be harder on dole recipients. John Howard, for example, toughened Activity Agreements. The present Labor government has not increased the unemployment rate. Obviously, sympathy for the unemployed is not important to them either. Labor has got rid of Work for the Dole for those unemployed for more than six months.

Government policy on all sides seems to be to keep the unemployed on their toes and anxious. Because there are few jobs available unless you move to the bush to mining companies, this appears to be the only purpose. learning to use computers, write resumes and do interviews serves no real function. Australia's workforce is becoming increasingly part-time and "casualized". Many work three days a week or less. Little research has been done into under-employment in this country.